Owen Kline, best known as the troubled child in Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale, has made the year's cringiest comedy in Funny Pages. In this case, the cringe factor is a good thing, as this confident directorial debut imbues its inherent awkwardness with a reflective tinge, creating a cinematic experience that strays far away from the ham-fistedness of most raunchy American comedies, laying bare a wholly unique, heartfelt and introspective exercise in grimy poetry.
This sharply funny coming-of-age story follows Robert (Daniel Zolghadri, in a searingly honest performance), a teenage cartoonist who ardently rejects the superficial comforts of suburbia. Kline examines his own privileged upbringing (he's the son of respected actor Kevin Kline), shedding any semblance of excess in this lo-fi exploration of oddities in the comic-book world. Once Robert meets Wallace (a delightfully weird Matthew Maher), a fellow lewd cartoonist, things go from bizarre to intensely ugly in great comedic fashion.
Much like the oddball world it's tackling, the film was similarly doomed to be left in obscurity. Shot in 2019, Funny Pages was trapped in post-production purgatory for three years until fellow grime connoisseurs the Safdie brothers saved it, bringing the universally loved A24 on board.
After making a splash at Cannes earlier this year, the film is finally here, and it's a concoction that wonderfully off-puts and captivates in equal measure. It's Cassavetes crossed with Zwigoff, a frenzied '70s-like account of cartoon culture that radiates with the biting immediacy of A Woman Under the Influence and the vulgar eccentricity of Crumb or Ghost World. It's a volatile combination that never fails to absorb and enrapture, even when it goes to the depths of cringe hell, testing our abilities to ultimately endure it. The odd, eccentric characters that populate its world both repel and charm: Barry the landlord (Michael Townsend Wright), his unsavoury tenant Steven (Cleveland Thomas Jr.), and Robert's loveably peculiar lawyer Cheryl (Marcia DeBonis) are all great attractions that ebb and flow, leaving a significant mark before they exit.
Besides the impeccable performances, the casting is what cements this strangely endearing environment. Its mix of both established performers and real people revels in a heightened realism that uncannily reinforces an immense bustling and lived-in atmosphere, making this bizarre world feel truly alive and that much more engrossing. There is a simultaneous authenticity and audacity to the film's depiction of Trenton, NJ, that is utterly palpable, making it easy to see why the Safdies championed it.
Despite its brief runtime of 86 minutes, the film makes the most of its unique cast by going off on fascinating tangents that explore its niche world of deviants and weirdos who obsess over obscure art, film and culture.
The true star of the film is Sean Price Williams's gorgeous and gritty cinematography. Shot gloriously on film (rife with endearing negative scratches), Williams's lens possesses a great textural quality that makes every zit, speck of dirt and bead of sweat feel tangible. Armed with a warm colour palette and a fervour for cascading camera movements, Williams's photography makes this dive into seedy urban life a repulsive but earnest delight to behold.
Funny Pages is all about Ill-advised artistic impulses, seeking purpose in the wrong places and people — or, as Robert's friend puts it, "failing with soul." It is a paean to the few who dare to chase their misbegotten dreams despite crushing failures and setbacks. Kline himself took a bold swing at the fences with this debut, and even though the plot is slightly unbelievable at times (which dilutes its realist ambitions), his struggle to realize his vision was well worth it.
(Sphere Films)This sharply funny coming-of-age story follows Robert (Daniel Zolghadri, in a searingly honest performance), a teenage cartoonist who ardently rejects the superficial comforts of suburbia. Kline examines his own privileged upbringing (he's the son of respected actor Kevin Kline), shedding any semblance of excess in this lo-fi exploration of oddities in the comic-book world. Once Robert meets Wallace (a delightfully weird Matthew Maher), a fellow lewd cartoonist, things go from bizarre to intensely ugly in great comedic fashion.
Much like the oddball world it's tackling, the film was similarly doomed to be left in obscurity. Shot in 2019, Funny Pages was trapped in post-production purgatory for three years until fellow grime connoisseurs the Safdie brothers saved it, bringing the universally loved A24 on board.
After making a splash at Cannes earlier this year, the film is finally here, and it's a concoction that wonderfully off-puts and captivates in equal measure. It's Cassavetes crossed with Zwigoff, a frenzied '70s-like account of cartoon culture that radiates with the biting immediacy of A Woman Under the Influence and the vulgar eccentricity of Crumb or Ghost World. It's a volatile combination that never fails to absorb and enrapture, even when it goes to the depths of cringe hell, testing our abilities to ultimately endure it. The odd, eccentric characters that populate its world both repel and charm: Barry the landlord (Michael Townsend Wright), his unsavoury tenant Steven (Cleveland Thomas Jr.), and Robert's loveably peculiar lawyer Cheryl (Marcia DeBonis) are all great attractions that ebb and flow, leaving a significant mark before they exit.
Besides the impeccable performances, the casting is what cements this strangely endearing environment. Its mix of both established performers and real people revels in a heightened realism that uncannily reinforces an immense bustling and lived-in atmosphere, making this bizarre world feel truly alive and that much more engrossing. There is a simultaneous authenticity and audacity to the film's depiction of Trenton, NJ, that is utterly palpable, making it easy to see why the Safdies championed it.
Despite its brief runtime of 86 minutes, the film makes the most of its unique cast by going off on fascinating tangents that explore its niche world of deviants and weirdos who obsess over obscure art, film and culture.
The true star of the film is Sean Price Williams's gorgeous and gritty cinematography. Shot gloriously on film (rife with endearing negative scratches), Williams's lens possesses a great textural quality that makes every zit, speck of dirt and bead of sweat feel tangible. Armed with a warm colour palette and a fervour for cascading camera movements, Williams's photography makes this dive into seedy urban life a repulsive but earnest delight to behold.
Funny Pages is all about Ill-advised artistic impulses, seeking purpose in the wrong places and people — or, as Robert's friend puts it, "failing with soul." It is a paean to the few who dare to chase their misbegotten dreams despite crushing failures and setbacks. Kline himself took a bold swing at the fences with this debut, and even though the plot is slightly unbelievable at times (which dilutes its realist ambitions), his struggle to realize his vision was well worth it.